Republican Jeb Bush to release 250,000 emails in e-book, /4/run in 2016 election

This weekend, Jeb Bush revealed he will be creating an e-book with all 250,000 emails from his eight year tenure as Florida governor. He also offered a little more information a possible ticket run in 2016 for the Republican Party.

Jeb Bush announced on Florida’s WPLG of plans to released 250,000 emails from his time as former Florida Governor. Even though he’s younger than President G.W. Bush, his name has been floated around for over a decade as a possible Republican presidential candidate.

MSNBC reports that the former state politician seemed to warm up to a campaign with a call for openness between public servants and citizens. All of the emails will be available in an upcoming e-book. Jokingly, Bush added, “I was digital before digital was cool, I guess.”

“Part of serving or running, both of them, is transparency, to be totally transparent.” In a slight nudge towards a possible trail starting, he appealed to voters. “I’ll let people make up their mind.”

Serving as governor between 1999 and 2007, the emails will be a mixed bag of what to expect. “There’s some funny ones, there’s some sad ones, there’s some serious ones.”

And he insisted that the book will serve as a reminder that “if you run with big ideas and then you’re true to those ideas, and get a chance to serve and implement them and do it with passion and conviction, you can move the needle. And that’s what we need right now in America.”

In the WPLG interview, Bush seemed confident, self-assured at his position, claiming  that he would “make up my mind in short order” about the 2016 race possibilities. However, it sounds like he’s already made up his mind, saying, “In spite of what appears to the case in this current environment in Washington, you can do big things.”

What would those big things be? No one quite knows just yet. The New York Times notes the differences between the Bush siblings. While President Bush is far more brash and bold, Jeb Bush is far more pensive and well-spoken. Some pundits have claimed the younger Bush is more moderate and centrist, but those who covered the governor’s time in office seem to disagree.

It was during his tenure that Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” passed—a controversial law that’s consistently questioned by many activist groups who feel the law protects the gun manufacturers over citizens. He also slashed taxes and sided with Terri Schiavo’s parents over her legal guardian and husband on whether to take out her feeding tube, what many physicians believed to be the only thing sustaining her body and life.

But as demonstrated during the interview with WPLG, Bush knows how to play to an audience. Between a first defeat for Florida governor in 1994 and win in 1998, he learned to incorporate and embrace minorities, to earn as many votes as possible. Victory is key.

And the Tampa Bay Times’s Adam C. Smith states Florida’s not willing to play fast and loose with the 2016 primary voting, either. Set to go on March 1, 2016, the state Republican Party will follow national committee protocol since Bush and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio are possible delegates.

The state will join Virginia, Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Massachusetts on the “Super Tuesday” election. Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s looking to create a southeastern coalition, dubbed the SEC primary. The South always follows football. But the overall message is to eliminate a winner-take-all approach and delegate proportionally.

Will that help Bush? Possibly.

Whatever the case /4/be for Jeb Bush, the political landscape is already preparing for the 2016 race—even though some of the midterm election winners are only now being finalized. As Democrats seem to be squaring off for an Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton showdown, Republicans are focusing on Jeb Bush versus New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, considered to be the moderate of the two.

Christie manages to walk a fine-line in his state. He’s granted undocumented immigrants in-state tuition, criminal justice reforms with an emphasis on rehabilitation first, and accepted Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Healthcare. Yet he adamantly opposes same-sex marriage, vetoed gun-control legislation, and denied abortion rights.

Rubio’s name is being rumbled around but he doesn’t hold the same grip as the other two men.

So how does Bush stack up?

Bush doesn’t mind speaking out against Republican ideals that are not quite in sync with political image of ideology, either. He once alluded to the fact that even Ronald Reagan would have trouble finding a place at the Republican dinner table right now.  But many of his policies work towards the current moderate, like Christie.

What will ultimately happen should Bush win the primary? No one knows this far in advance, but it’s clear that unlike President Bush, Jeb is all about the power of words and getting voter confidence through a slow-process and without liberal use of ‘good ol’ boy’ charm.

Sources: MSNBC, WPLG, New York Times, Tampa Bay Times